Camera Data

As Dale approached Clearwater his old suspicious self returned. He heard none of the friendly banter that normally came at the end of a day; no dogs sniffed round the rubbish heaps and no children played by the riverside. With a sudden sense of apprehension, he dropped his pack of non-essentials and crawled to the top of a low ridge with his rifle and binoculars. As he scanned the settlement he saw no friends or relatives, only armed strangers in deep desert garb. Large dark birds cawed balefully from the shadows of the ancient causeway that sheltered the primitive shanties below. When he focused on the shapes hanging from the rusty girders his concern gave way to rage.

A more reckless man would have snatched up his gun and started firing indiscriminately, but he’d known plenty in his time and few of them had lasted long. Dale waited for the sun to set, retrieved his pack and walked away, swearing his hometown would yet be avenged...